The present invention is directed to a novel process for the ammoxidation of a mixture of ketones to a mixture of nitriles. In particular, the present invention is directed to increasing the yield of co-product hydrogen cyanide and acetonitrile produced during the ammoxidation of propylene to acrylonitrile.
There are patents which address the issue of the injection of acetone into a fluid bed reactor to produce acetonitrile. In addition, these references further disclose that the acetone may be introduced into a fluid bed reactor to increase the co-product acetonitrile while manufacturing acrylonitrile. In particular, Japanese Patent Application 2[1990]-38,333 is directed to improving acetonitrile yields by injecting acetone and/or ethyl alcohol into ammoxidation reactor containing ammoxidation catalyst. The process disclosed in the Japanese Patent Application includes simultaneously injecting the acetone and/or ethyl alcohol into the ammoxidation reactor while manufacturing acrylonitrile.
The present invention is directed to a process which increases the yield of both main co-products (i.e. HCN and acetonitrile) during the manufacture of acrylonitrile while (1) saving on the raw material costs associated with the increase in co-product yields and (2) achieving the same or better conversion and selectivity to the desired co-products.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a process for the ammoxidation of a mixture of ketones and/or a crude ketone to hydrogen cyanide and acetonitrile.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a process for substantially increasing the yields of co-product hydrogen cyanide and acetonitrile produced during the manufacture of acrylonitrile from propylene.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a process for the conversion of a mixture of ketones (e.g. acetone and methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK)) into hydrogen cyanide and acetonitrile during the manufacture of acrylonitrile without substantially affecting the yield of the acrylonitrile.
Additional objects and advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following, or may be learned by the practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
To achieve the foregoing objects in accordance with the purpose of the present invention as broadly described herein, the method of the present invention comprises introducing a hydrocarbon selected from the group consisting of propylene and propane, a mixture of ketones (e.g. acetone and MIBK), ammonia and oxygen-containing gas into reaction zone (e.g fluid bed reactor)to react in the presence of a catalyst (e.g. fluid bed catalyst) to produce a reactor effluent comprising acrylonitrile, hydrogen cyanide and acetonitrile, passing the reactor effluent containing acrylonitrile, hydrogen cyanide and acetonitrile into a quench column to cool the reactor effluent, and recovering the acrylonitrile, acetonitrile and hydrogen cyanide from the quench column.
In another aspect of the present invention, the process comprises introducing a mixture of ketones (e.g. acetone and MIBK) and/or a crude ketone, ammonia and oxygen-containing gas into reaction zone (e.g. fluid bed reactor) to react in the presence of a catalyst (e.g. fluid bed catalyst) to produce a reactor effluent comprising hydrogen cyanide and acetonitrile, passing the reactor effluent containing the hydrogen cyanide and acetonitrile into a quench column to cool the reactor effluent, and recovering the acetonitrile and hydrogen cyanide from the quench column. In the practice of this aspect of the present invention the ammoxidation conditions used in the manufacture of acrylonitrile as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,911,089 herein incorporated by reference may be utilized.
For purposes of the present invention, the mixture of ketones is intended to include mixtures of commercially available ketones such as acetone, MIBK, methyl ethyl ketone etc. in either their purified, substantially purified, or crude form. In addition, commercially available crude ketones may be used by itself in the practice of the present invention. For purposes of this application the term xe2x80x9ccrude ketonexe2x80x9d shall mean a mixture of at least two ketones and a diluent (e.g. crude acetone shall comprises primarily acetone containing other ketones as impurities and water as a diluent).
In the practice of the present invention, it is envisioned that any ammoxidation catalyst can be utilized to achieve the desired results. Typical ammoxidation catalysts can be generalized by the following two formulae:
AaBbCcDdMo12Ox
where
A=Li, Na, K, Cs, Tl and combinations thereof, preferably Cs and K
B=Ni, Co, Mn, Mg, Ca and combinations thereof, preferably Ni, Co and Mg
C=Fe, Cr, Ce, Cu, V, Sb, W, Sn, Ga, Ge, In, P and combinations thereof, preferably Fe, Cr and Ce
D=Bi and/or Te, preferably Bi
a=0.1-4.0, preferably 0.1 to 0.5, especially preferred being 0.1 to 0.2
b=0.1-10.0, preferably 5 to 9, especially preferred being 6 to 8, and
c,d=0.1-10.0, preferably 0.5 to 4, especially preferred being 0.5 to 3; and
AaBbSb12Ox 
where
A=Fe, Cr, Ce, V, U, Sn, Ti, Nb and combinations thereof, preferably Fe, V, Sn and Ti
B=Mo, W, Co, Cu, Te, Bi, Zn, B, Ni, Ca, Ta and combinations thereof, preferably Mo and Cu
a=0.1-16, preferably 2 to 12, especially preferred being 4 to 10
b=0.0-12, preferably 1 to 10, especially preferred being 2 to 6, and the value of x depends on the oxidation state of the elements used.
The catalyst can be used either unsupported, or be supported with silica, alumina, titania, zirconia and the like; however, silica is the preferred support. Typically, catalysts envisioned as suitable in the practice of the present invention are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,642,930; 4,485,079; 3,911,089, 4,873,215; 5,134,105 and 5,093,299, herein incorporated by reference.
Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the invention.
The present invention is primarily directed to the utilization of a mixture of at least two ketones such as acetone and methyl isobutyl ketone as a source for the production of useful nitrile co-products (hydrogen cyanide and acetonitrile) produced during the manufacture of acrylonitrile. However, the process of the present invention is also applicable to the manufacture of on purpose acetonitrile and hydrogen cyanide by the direct ammoxidation of a mixture of C1 to C4 ketone and/or a crude ketone, ammonia and oxygen in a reaction zone in the presence of an ammoxidation catalyst. In addition, crude ketone (as defined above), by itself, may be utilized in the practice of the present invention thereby further reducing the cost of the raw materials suitable for the production of viable co-products.
The practice of the process of the present invention during the manufacture of acrylonitrile increases the yield of both HCN and acetonitrile during the manufacture of acrylonitrile. The practice of this aspect of the present invention comprises introducing a hydrocarbon selected from the group consisting of propylene and propane, a crude ketone, ammonia and air, into a reaction zone containing an ammoxidation catalyst, reacting the hydrocarbon, ketone, ammonia and oxygen over said catalyst at an elevated temperature to produce acrylonitrile, hydrogen cyanide and acetonitrile, and recovering the acrylonitrile, hydrogen cyanide and acetonitrile from the reactor.
In another embodiment of this aspect of the present invention, the process comprises introducing a hydrocarbon selected from the group consisting of propylene and propane, a mixture of at least two C1 to C4 ketones, ammonia and air, into a reaction zone containing an ammoxidation catalyst, reacting the hydrocarbon, ketones, ammonia and oxygen over said catalyst at an elevated temperature to produce acrylonitrile, hydrogen cyanide and acetonitrile, and recovering the acrylonitrile, hydrogen cyanide and acetonitrile from the reactor.
In the preferred embodiment of this aspect of the present invention, it is necessary that the reactor conditions be adjusted to obtain the increased yield in acetonitrile and hydrogen cyanide obtained by utilizing the mixture of ketones and/or crude ketone. In the practice of the present invention, the ammoxidation reaction conditions should be within the following parameters: Crude ketone is between 1 and 50% of propylene or propane rate on a total carbon basis. The temperature of the reaction is between 410xc2x0 to 460xc2x0 C., preferably 405xc2x0 to 440xc2x0 C. Typically, the pressure is maintained at between 1 to 5 atmospheres with 1 to 3 atmospheres being preferred.
In a further preferred embodiment of this aspect of the present invention the crude ketone mixture comprises a mixture containing acetone, MIBK and water.
In a still further preferred embodiment of this aspect of the present invention the process is performed in a fluid bed reactor.
In another preferred embodiment of this aspect of the present invention the mixture of ketones comprises crude ketone in combination with at least one substantially pure C1 to C4 ketone.
In still another preferred embodiment of this aspect of the present invention, the ketone is separately introduced into the reactor zone.
In a still further preferred embodiment of this aspect of the present invention, the mixture of ketones and/or crude ketone is separately introduced into the fluid bed reactor, preferably at a location above the point where the hydrocarbon is fed into the reactor, especially preferred being a location in the upper portion of the reactor.